The Beginning
by live and alone
Summary: 7 years after the destruction of the Hellmouth, Buffy and friends face a new challenge.
1. Chapter 1

This is my very first fan fiction. I do not own the characters or the rights to Buffy. This is just for pure enjoyment. This line begins 7 years after the destruction of the Hellmouth. I have picked it up, without any knowledge of the comics or anything that has come since.

Chapter one

Buffy Summers couldn't help but smile. It had been 7 years since the destruction of the Hellmouth in Sunnydale, California. Since then, her life had taken many twists and turns, but she never thought it'd end up here. She was sitting behind a desk, in an office which she could only describe as stuffy. She brought in many pictures to try and "Buffinize the place," as her best friend Xander Harris so affectionately put it. There were pictures on her desk that brought back many great memories. There were pictures of things that made her happy. There was a picture of her, Tara and Willow during the birthday party for Tara at the Bronze, a picture of Dawn and Buffy, which Dawn had made the frame for and given Buffy on her birthday, and then there was her favorite picture of all. The picture of Buffy, Dawn and their mother Joyce. This picture had bittersweet memories for Buffy. This was a great picture of the girls with their mother, whom had died about 9 years ago, but it was also a reminder that her mother had been long since gone. Now, here was Buffy, about 30, and working for the newly formed Council.

It took a lot of persuading for the new Council to get Buffy on board, but it was when Rupert Giles, her old Watcher, was named head of the Council, that Buffy agreed. How could she say no, when the one in charge was someone she trusted? She took her elbow length hair into a ponytail, and she sighed. An office? She wasn't used to this. The last few structured jobs she had varied from working in a fast food restaurant to being a guidance counselor. In the years since the Hellmouth had been destroyed, and all the potential Slayers had been awakened, she had been in the field, traveling all over the world, meeting with these new girls, trying to help them understand exactly what was happening to them. Since Giles took over the Council, he made her head of the Slayers department. Now here she sat, in an office, with an assistant, and a computer. It just blew her mind how much of an adult she was. Suddenly, the intercom beeped. "Ms. Summers, Mr. Giles requests an immediate meeting." Her assistants voice came out as snooty as her assistant, Susie Green, came off in person. "Ummm, alright." Buffy said. "But I have a 12:30 phone meeting with the Slayer Department rep from Vancouver." "I've already rescheduled that for you Ms. Summers. Mr. Giles says it's urgent." Her assistant said. "Tell him ok." Buffy sighed. Buffy stood up and walked towards the door. Giles had told the decorator that Buffy was not allowed to have a mirror in the office, "...for it would distract her and I need her at her best and not dwelling vanity." However, Buffy knew Giles better than that and bought her own to bring in. So before she opened the door, she took a gander at herself in the full length mirror. With her new Armani pink sweater, with black slacks and new black leather Steve Madden boots, Buffy could only say, "Still a hottie." With that, she opened the door and headed out to Giles' office.

Giles had a tremendous office, and Buffy was the last to arrive to this meeting. Buffy opened the door to find Giles sitting behind his desk, with that furrowed brow that always told Buffy there was trouble. She opened the door and walked through. "Buffy you're late." Giles said. "And you're surprised?" Willow Rosenberg asked. It suddenly dawned on Buffy that she was the last to arrive as she saw all of the immediate Scooby gang sitting in the room already, since Giles gave most positions in the Council. Willow was the head of the Magic department. Her role in the destruction of the Hellmouth was pivotal, and her life since that day had been hectic. Willow had been traveling and studying more about magic, the history and practice of all different kinds. The biggest difference was that Willow and Kennedy, one of the potential slayers who survived that battle in Sunnydale, had since split. They were together for two years, and the staying in one spot and calmer lifestyle didn't really sit well with Kennedy. She didn't want to settle, she wanted to explore and see the world. Willow wasn't on that page. The breakup was huge, and Kennedy took off to travel the world. No one had heard from her since. Willow had moved on, dating here or there, but never anything like her relationship with Kennedy, or with Tara, who had been Willows first girlfriend. She had since died, leaving Willow broken hearted.

Willow was seated at the conference table in Giles office. She sat on the right side of the table, next to Xander and across from Buffys sister Dawn. Buffy had to laugh because Willow was the only 30 year old she knew that would come to work in a rainbow colored dress, letting her shoulder length, firey red hair fall down to her shoulders. Xander Harris sat to Willow's right, wearing a suit and tie. Xander had remained relatively thin, and was the only Scooby gang member to decide to retain a normal life. Since they had all relocated to San Franscico, Xander started his own construction company, which took off. With being the owner of a successful business, Xander had the schedule to be able to still be active in Scooby duties, as much as he could now anyway. In that months before the big battle, Xander had been the victim of a thumb to his eye. At least he stopped wearing eye patches with the letter 'E' on it, which represented, "where his eye was." Dawn, at 24, now worked in the Councils Family Support Center. She ran the department that handled all kinds of counseling and support groups for families of Slayers. As the Slayers sister, she knew what it was like to have a family member risk their lives and she felt the way many of these family members did. Buffy couldn't help but notice how grown up Dawn looked, sitting at the table in a female, black suit. Buffy sat next to her sister and Giles sat at the head of the table. "Ok, let's get this started." Buffy said. "We have to wait for Faith." Willow reminded Buffy.

"Faith's five by five." They all turned to see Faith standing by the door. The years had been kind to Faith. Buffy was constant in awe of the the factor that her hardened extieror had had no effect on Faith's attractive aura. She still looked pretty much the same from all those years before, same hair, same style... "No need to worry about my damn ass." ...same mouth. Faith took the seat opposite Giles...the other head of the table. Faith always liked to think of herself as head slayer, which never bothered Buffy in the least. It was obvious that Buffy and Faith had more power than the other slayers, which always blew Buffy's mind. How was it, that all of a sudden, there seemed to be a slayer hierarchy?

"Ok. Well we've unearthed an ancient prophecy, the prophecy of the Etheral Three, as it has been translated from the anicent sumerian." Giles said, as he leaned forward on the table. "Sumerian! I love sumerian! It's all anicent and..." Willow began to ramble. Buffy fazed out as soon as Will hit "and." Buffy loved Willow. They had been besties since Buffy moved to Sunnydale. But sometimes the rambling could go on for a while. Buffy started thinking about shoes, and how her new boots made her butt look. She snapped back in time for the end of Willows ramble. "...power and mystics and oo la la." Willow said with a grin. "Yes. Well here's the interesting thing. According to the Three, there is the power of the ages, the Slayer. But it talks of three beyond that. Three who possess more strength, more ability, more power than the rest." "Three huh?" Dawn stated. "Great. So now we have to find these three and what? Train them? Are we gonna be watchers?" Buffy asked. "I don't want to be old and boring and watch the BBC, eat fish and chips and wear boring clothes." Giles just looked at her and continued. "Here's the thing, it states that two are linked to the power of the ages, but one has not been, but has been connected to it." Everyone just stared at each other. "Well, it's obvious Buffy and Faith are two of them." Dawn said. _Great._ Buffy thought. _I thought I was done being "special."_ "But who's the third?" Faith asked. "Connected, it's one of us." Willow said. Everyone's eyes began wandering, staring at the four non slayers in the room. "No. It says the third has been connected to the power, but has also felt the ultimate loss. Meaning, someone who has passed on."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The room was silent. Someone close to the group but who has died. Dawn got up and walked to the right corner, where a white board sat. She grabbed a marker and said, "Well, let's make a list. Who has been in our group that has died?" "Anya." Xander said, recalling the death of his ex fiancee, during that final battle in Sunnydale. "Jenny." Giles chimed in. Jenny Calander was Giles ex girlfriend, who had been a teacher at the high school and a Gypsy. She had been killed by Angel, Buffy's former flame. "Tara." Willow said. "Mom." Buffy said. Buffy and Dawn's mother had died in Sunnydale of an brain aneurism. Dawn wrote all the names down and they all just stared.

"Well Tara was a witch, she's connected to power." Dawn pointed out. "Anya was a Vengeance Demon, so she was connected to a complete different kind of power." Willow said. "Jenny was a Gypsy." Xander said. "Yeah, but Joyce wasn't magical." Faith pointed out. "No, but she gave birth to a Slayer. Imagine the connection to the power from that standpoint." Giles pointed out. "Wait a minute." Willow said as she stood up. "Kendra! The slayer that Drusilla killed that made Faiths slayerness activate." They all just sat there. "We can sit here and toss it back and forth all day. There are so many choices." Faith said. "People connected to us die all the time." Buffy hated it, but it was the truth. Cordelia, Wesley, Angel's friend Fred, Jonathan, the list tended to just go on and on. "So someone's destined to come back? That's hopeful, and scary." Dawn said as she sat back down. "How do we do this?" Faith asked. Giles sighed and took a small black pyramid looking paper weight out of a bag he had under his chair. "We use this." Giles said. "Oh my god!" Willow exclaimed. Everyone else just looked at each other with confusion. "The orb of Minsk!" "That's right. It will take four to be tried. If the four can pass the test, the powers unlocked, along with our mystery friend. If anyone fails, all five souls are destroyed." Giles explained.

They sat stunned for a minute. No one really knew what to say. "Which four are tested?" Dawn asked. "We're not sure." Giles explained. "We've looked into it, but to the best of our knowledge, the four will just be taken once activated." Buffy sat for a second, praying she wouldn't be part of this, but she could feel it, in her bones, that she and Faith were two of the Three. Who was the third? "I hate this not knowing thing. Why can't these prophecies be all like, 'Listen guys. Three of you are powerful. Jenny's coming back to life. Ok thanks.'" Willow always has a way of turning something so serious into something funny, without even trying. She never intended to, but just her phrasing of certain things gave her this ability to lighten Buffys load, even if just for a second. "Ok. Well let's all get changed, and meet back here in two hours. The sooner we do this the better." Faith said, breaking the silence. As they stood you could see the curiosity on each persons faces as to who it would be, or who it _should_ be. Each person got in their car and drove home, each plagued with the knowledge that four souls would be tested, risking their lives, and the soul of this mystery person, in danger.

Buffy walked into her new apartment, and threw her keys on the table. She walked right into her bedroom, but didn't get changed. She sat on the bed in a trance. How great would it be if her mother came forth? It would be great to have her back again, but the idea of her mother suddenly becoming a powerful entity felt weird to her. However, Jenny was a gypsy. She could tap into these forces that Buffy still had no comprehension over. It seemed almost obvious that Jenny would be the chosen one. Buffy got up and she opened her left closet door to see her blue jeans, a black tee shirt and a pair of sneakers. She changed and walked out, praying everyone would survive, and that Jenny could become all the prophecy says she must become.

Dawn walked into her apartment and collapsed on the couch. With Buffy, Giles, Faith and Xander living in the heart of the city, Dawn, along with Willow, decided to live in apartments in the suburbs. Dawn never felt like she got to enjoy living in the community with so many families, because she lived her life as the target for a god, watched her mother and sister die, her sister come back to life, was kidnapped every single day, and then saw the town demolish. So now she chose the quiet life, but this prophecy made her quite nervous. She knew it was her mom. How could it not be? She created the Slayer. They all had the same blood, Summers Blood. That's a connection no one could even compare with. Dawn knew she wouldn't be tested, but changed anyway. She would fight for her mother's life, and no one would stand in her way.

Xander changed, but felt uneasy the whole time. _Someone who had died, _he kept thinking to himself. There had to be some trick to this. There was always some backlash. Suddenly it dawned on him that just because they've died, doesn't mean they must have stayed dead! "Crap." Xander muttered to himself. "Spike. It'll be Spike, because the Powers that Be like to be a pain in my ASS." Xander grabbed a soda from the fridge and walked out the door, praying it wouldn't be Spike.

Giles wanted Jenny back, and who better to test than a Watcher. He got home and immediately began reading another ancient text he had at his residence. There had to be some clue, something to tell him it would be her. He had never loved again after Jenny, not counting the sexual romp he had with Buffy's mother after eating cursed band candy the year after Jenny died. He'd never loved as deeply since, and he wanted her back with every fiber of his being. But all he kept thinking about was Anya. She was a vengeance demon. She brought devastation to millions, a thought she'd taken great pride in. She knew of the depths of evil, and the power of good. She wasn't a good fighter persay, but look at how Buffy started all those years ago. Giles realized it was time to leave and he walked out, praying for Jenny, but expecting Anya.

Willow sat in a field and meditated. She prayed for answers, prayed for wisdom, and asked for the knowledge of the chosen one. No one came to mind. Willow had worked hard on letting everyone who had gone go, as it was part of life. Her grief had led her to the almost destruction of the world when Tara died, so she had worked hard at not really allowing her grief to control her. But Jonathan had the best control over magic, other than her and Tara, had created glamours, and conjured other worlds. He may have been a tiny, dorky little thing, but he knew his stuff. Willow knew it was time to go and she left, wondering how this sudden resurgence of life would affect her grief and her magic?

Faith didn't give a shit. She went home, took a shower, watched some tube and just relaxed. She never really had any emotional investments in anyone that had passed. The only person who she could think of that meant anything to her was Joyce, but that was long ago. Faith just knew that this third person was needed. If the power was getting larger and greater, that meant so was the evil threat, and the idea of dying wasn't really on Faith's to do list. She'd been stabbed, thrown from a roof, injected with a drug meant to drive a vampire insane and was fed off of, and was in a coma twice. Faith didn't want to fight for anyone elses life but her own. So she'd be tested, and she knew she'd win because that's how it'd have to be.

Each member pulled into a parking spot, and all six just sat for a moment, because they knew, once they walked in, that they'd either be killed, or that life would never be the same again.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

Back in the office, things were tense as all sat as they did a few hours ago, with the Orb of Minsk sitting in the center of the table. "Goodness. This is...intimidating." Willow said, as she played with the sleeve on her bright pink sweatshirt, something she seemed to do as a nervous habit. Xander couldn't sit still, and Dawn seemed to be drifting in and out of a daydream. Buffy sighed and leaned forward onto the table. "Ok. How exactly do we do this?" she asked. Giles took of his glasses and began cleaning them. "Honestly, the prophecy, and our research is a complete blank. We know nothing of what happens once the chosen are sent in there. Just as long as we pass the test..." Giles said as he trailed off. It'd be one thing to hope that loss would mean that the third would stay dead, but its another to know that loss would kill the four testees. Buffy didn't want to be special anymore, but she couldn't condemn her friends to death, because she didn't feel like being the One anymore.

"Ok, well let's do this. Ready B?" Faith asked Buffy. Buffy stood and said, "I guess." Everyone stood, and Giles handed Willow a piece paper. "Read this as I turn the Orb." Giles said. "It's not really an Orb. Orbs are usually like a ball, but this is triangular, which is very deceiving-" Willow said, but Giles interrupted with, "Willow." She stopped and opened the paper. As he turned the Orb, Willow began reciting the spell on the paper. Buffy couldn't understand the words Willow was saying, but then again, when could she understand a spell? Giles grabbed the orb, touched his finger to the top point of the orb, and pushed a bit. Buffy could hear a click. Then Giles placed it down, and held the bottom of the orb, as he turned the top half. As he did, Willow finished the spell, and Giles stepped back.

A bright blue light went from the top point of the orb to the ceiling, and then went from the ceiling to Dawn. It hit her, and she began to glow blue. Buffy watched as the light moved from person to person doing the same thing. From Dawn, to Willow, to Giles, to Faith, to Xander, and finally Buffy. The light felt like nothing she'd ever felt before. It felt like...power. It seemed to overtake her body. If power had a taste, she could taste it there. If power had a scent, she could smell it. It began to get really hot. Suddenly, Willow and Giles fell to the floor, and they watched as Xander, Faith, Dawn and Buffy glowed until they were nothing but streams of blue light and then were sucked into the orb. With that, the light dimmed, and Willow and Giles were left to wait and see, if their friends survived, and if they did, who they brought back with them.

***

Faith had never felt such heat before. Suddenly, she found herself in the dark. There was a enough light that she could see she was alone in a dark room. Well, room was the wrong word. It was more like a closet. Faith just stood there, waiting for this test to begin. Nothing happened. A whole lot of nothing. Faith just sat there, listening to nothing.

***

Dawn couldn't describe the heat she felt. It felt as though the heat would burn through every inch of her being. She felt the fire burn through her, and then suddenly it stopped. She opened her eyes, and she all she saw was a familiar skyline. She looked down and saw that her jeans and tee shirt were gone, and they were replaced by a purple and pink dress and she froze. The skyline, the dress...she turned to see she was standing at the top of a tower and she felt herself tear up. Then when she saw Buffy standing, in her purple sweater, staring into a giant ball of energy in the sky, as the sun rose. Dawn knew, that this was the moment, when Buffy gave her life to spare the entire human race from torment, and to spare Dawns life.

She couldn't believe she was standing there again. This moment always sent Dawn into a guilty tailspin. Buffy died, because Dawn was the key. When Buffy came back, resurrected by Willow, Anya, Tara and Xander, it wasn't the same for a long time. Buffy didn't want to be there, that was obvious. Willow and Tara stepped up to be her guardians, but Dawn always felt guilty because Buffy died because of her. Because of Buffy's death, Willow had to access a great deal of magic to bring her back, which fed into Willow's growing addiction to magic. That addiction led to Tara and Willows breakup. So when they finally got back together, they didn't leave their bedroom for days, leaving that stray bullet to not just go through the window, but take Taras life. The first attacked because of the shift brought about by the spell that brought Buffy back to life. She knew it was far fetched, but Dawn still felt all of this guilt, all the time. She sometimes wished, in the pit of her stomach, as the night grew dark, that she could have stopped Buffy, convinced her that the Slayer was meant for more than that, and that it was Dawn who needed to jump into that energy. Buffy was meant to be alive. Without some priests and a nasty god, Dawn wouldn't be.

Dawn stood there. "Buffy no!" She could feel herself say. "Dawnie, I have to." Buffy said. Just then, Dawn felt a surge of adrenaline, and she realized this was her test. This was her chance to stop Buffy. This was her chance to make things right, make things the way they should be. "no." she grunted, very quietly. Buffy looked at her, "Listen-" Buffy started to say, but before she could finish Dawn reached out and grabbed Buffys shoulders and took a step back, bringing Buffy with her. With a hard turn, Dawn spun and tossed Buffy. Buffy, who was normally rather strong, was not expecting it, so she went flying down the flight of stairs. Dawn turned to see a monster who looked like a dragon fly out of the energy ball. She walked to the tip of the bridge, which came from the top of the tower and she stood ready to jump, saving Buffy's life.

But as she stood, all she could think of was how everyone always say that things happen for a reason. Everyone speaks of how things always happen the way they were meant to. Dawn had the ability to save her sisters life, Tara's life, Willow and Taras relationship, she had the ability to save everything. Or did she? Did she have the right to rewrite history? Did she have the write to change everything? What would life be like if Dawn had died instead of Buffy? Could Buffy have handled all of the things that came her way, had she not changed from dying? "DAWN!" Buffy yelled as she ran up the stairs. Dawn could feel hands on her shoulders leading her backwards, and Dawn began to cry. "Buffy...no." Dawn whimpered. "Dawnie, I have to." Buffy said. Dawn knew, in that moment, that Buffy had to die. It had to be Buffy. It had to not be Dawn. So Dawn watched as her sister ran and jumped into that ball of energy. Dawn cried as she looked over the side to watch her sister scream and grunt in pain, before ultimately losing her life. Dawn took a deep breath and all of a sudden, she couldn't help but feeling hot. It was intense. She looked down to see she was glowing blue. She stepped back as the heat overtook-

***

Faith stood in that dark room. It had felt like hours. Was this test ever going to begin? Faith's mind kept wandering. She was remembering things she didn't want to remember. She remembered the time that she switched bodies with Buffy. She remembered the time she shot Angel with a fatal poison. She felt her brow begin to sweat. She wanted out, out of this room. There was just nothing. Faith couldn't take the nothing.

***

Xander felt heat like nothing he'd ever felt before. Suddenly, he was in the brightest room he'd ever seen. He spun around and saw nothing but light. "Gadzooks!" He said as he put his arms on his hips. "Is this heaven? Did someone fail their test before I was even tested?" All of a sudden, his eye started itching. He pushed his finger under the eye patch and gave it a quick scratch, but it did nothing to ease it at all.

Suddenly, a woman seemed to just appear out of nowhere. She was covered in a cloak with a big hood, so Xander couldn't make out her identity. "Is this my test? Are you the quizmaster? Listen, I don't do well on tests. I can build you something-" "Silence." She interrupted. Xander stopped speaking at once, and all over a sudden, there was a chair next to him. "Sit." She commanded. Between Buffy, Faith, Willow, Anya, Tara, Cordelia...he knew not to argue with powerful women. So he sat. "Yes mistress." He said.

"Yes. Your humor. You're always the funny one, aren't you? Cracking jokes to ease the tension." Xander listened to her, but was mesmerized that she never seemed to move. She hadn't moved an inch since she appeared. "Yes, I like to think that I'm funny, but-" "I said silence." She interrupted again. "Jeez lady. What do you want? Are you here to test my patience?" She said nothing and, completely frustrated, he threw his hands in the air and said, "Continue." She took a breath and said, "You've always been the one passed over, the one without power." He winced. It was true. Buffy and Faith were slayers, Giles could work magic, Dawn was the Key, Willow was uber-witch...he had always been the one that didn't really have anything. It made him remember Caleb, the Firsts' bitch that he fought during a battle. Because Xander wasn't special, he had a different outlook, and because of that, Caleb poked his eye out with his thumb.

"But you're powerful in ways you can't imagine. You ground your friends in times of crisis, either by being logical, or by panicking and making them focus because you cannot." "Well great. So I just freak everyone out. Thanks. This has been a wonderful test." Xander said. "Your test is not now. But it has been." After she said this, Xander just looked at her. "Excuse me, lady with no face. What does that mean?" he asked. "You have always been meant for something more, Xander Harris, and now it is time to understand it. You will not be part of the Three, but you will carry something unique to help. But you will need something more. The world, except those around you, will think you had this fixed a long time ago." "Had what fixed?" He asked. With that, she raised her arms, and a bolt of lightening seemed to begin building in her hands. He wanted to run, but he felt his eye itch again. With that, she struck him, in the poked out eye, with the lightening. He flew backwards into a wall, before hitting the ground. When he stood up he discovered, he had both of his eyes.

"Oh my god! MY EYE!" He yelled. "But, I don't understand." She put her arms down and said, "It will unfold soon. But know that this blessing can be a curse, and that eye has more power than you know. Soon, all will be revealed." With that, she raised her hands and Xander felt the heat again. "Wait-" He started to ask her why she had done this, and what gift could he have now? But he couldn't ask, because with that, he was gone.


End file.
